Private wireless networks provide secure solutions for digital transformation

When many businesses first installed wireless IoT devices, they used their existing WiFi and Bluetooth access points to connect off-the-shelf sensors and other devices. And because most of the time they connected these devices to the company's main network, some security and performance issues arose.

WiFi and Bluetooth are not suitable for wide-area IoT applications because their access point range is limited to a few meters and require devices that use a lot of power to maintain a stable connection. Low-power, battery-powered IoT devices (such as simple sensors and actuators) require long-range, low-power communication standards such as LoRa, NB-IoT or Zigbee.

Cellular networks, especially those offering low-power LTE-M and NB-IoT technologies, provide reliable security and wide-area connectivity. Some mobile infrastructure providers, such as Huawei and Nokia, are offering dedicated LTE networks for medium and large enterprise customers, providing off-the-shelf solutions that make initial investments more manageable.

Typical use cases for private networks are large areas such as airports, mines, factories, warehouses, power plants, ships, and stadiums.

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Once implemented, private wireless networks offer tremendous benefits to businesses and other organizations, including:

• Strong security and isolation: Based on wireless protocols and encryption, a private IoT network does not allow any other devices to connect to it, providing isolation against external threats.
• Comprehensive edge computing capabilities: Keep all IoT devices on a secure local network, improving the performance and analytics of edge computing applications.
• Low latency and reliability: While the new 5G networks offer security and low latency, local networks can provide the same capabilities without relying on external service providers. In addition, 5G networks are still in the early stages of deployment and spectrum availability.
• Cost Control: Although it requires an initial investment, a private wireless network allows organizations to control ongoing costs because external providers charge usage fees.

Private wireless networks cannot solve all the challenges of operating an IoT platform. There are also some potential disadvantages to using private networks:

• Requires internal expertise: Installing and managing a private wireless network requires some basic technical knowledge that not all organizations have. They need to hire the necessary service representatives or an outside company to provide the service.
• Difficulty calculating ROI: Since it requires an initial capital outlay, calculating the return on investment for a private network versus an external offering becomes more difficult.
• Potential obsolescence: Depending on the application, investments in equipment need to be made with obsolescence in mind. Devices such as smart meters and simple sensors can operate for years without the need to upgrade the gateway. In the future, more demanding IoT devices may require better connectivity than the initial network provides.
• Unpredictable scalability: Similar to a private cloud, a private wireless network can run into issues when the need to scale arises. Adding more gateways or access points can address this initial hurdle.

As with any other digital transformation project, there are many factors to consider and different options and benefits when deciding to implement on a dedicated wireless network for IoT.